Theme

Theme - a theme is the truth or insight a literary work reveals about people and life.

The theme is rarely stated in the story The theme is rarely stated in the story. Sometimes you must figure it out or infer what the theme is. The theme is what you infer to be the meaning of the story. The author wants you to discover the theme through the experience of reading the story.

Inference To make an inference means to figure out meanings from things, even if they are not stated. It is taking an educated guess based on the clues the writer has given you and experiences from your own life. For example reading between the lines, understanding the story within the story, and understanding what an action means.

Characters, actions and images all work together to convey the theme of the story. So if you are trying to infer or learn what the theme is you need to look at the characters, actions and images of the story.

We learn about the theme or infer the theme of a story by asking: • What have the characters learned? • How have the characters changed? • What have the characters discovered? • What ideas about life does the story suggest? • What is the story’s title? Does it reveal anything special about the story?

The theme is not your opinion of the story and don’t confuse it with the subject or the topic of the story. • The subject or topic is often stated in one word. • A theme cannot be stated in one word because it is the meaning of the story, which would be hard to express in one word.

Themes talk about Society Individuals The human condition (what humans think, and feel, and struggle with, no matter when they lived or where)

Universal Themes Are themes that relate to the human condition.

Some stories have more than one theme. People can learn different things about life from reading the same story.